All's Fair in a Lover's War
by readinangel
Summary: Bella’s life is good and her perfect boyfriend Edward makes it even better. But when they get into a fight, it starts an all out war between friends. Secrets are revealed, alliances are made; people are crushed. Who will win this ultimate lover’s spat? AH
1. preface forgive and forget

**All's Fair in a Lover's War**

_Bella's life is good and her perfect boyfriend Edward makes it even better. But when they get into a fight, it starts an all out war between friends. Secrets are revealed, alliances are made; people are crushed. Who will win this ultimate lover's spat? AH_

Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer creates these amazing characters. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

**PREFACE **

(Forgive and Forget)

**J**ust when you think it's all done,

You'll be surprised what has begun;

You won't be ready for what you see,

It can't be real, it just can't be.

-Bella-

I knew it was time for forgiveness, time for peace, for joy, for love… we had been fighting for days, weeks, and it was time for a change.

Through all this time I had missed him, so much, it actually ached to be away, but I managed- out of trivial, unimportant anger- that could have been, should have been, so easily resolved. I couldn't believe I had managed to stay that far away from him for that long, it was an amazing accomplishment- or an amazing defeat, either way; it was amazing.

I wanted to enjoy his kisses again, feel his body pressed against mine, I wanted his love. After all we had been through, all we had done together, we needed peace. I had never once since meeting him gone this long with out a hug from him, a kiss from him, without hearing the words "I love you."

That's why I hated fighting. And it had been about something so stupid too, so stupid. I just wanted it to be over. I wanted to put it behind us, put on the top shelf, out of reach. Something that would be forgotten over time, that's what it needed to be. They said time heals all wounds, this would be gone, this tiny snag.

We would be perfect together, old times, we could be together, get married, have kids, there was nothing that could stand in our way, there was nothing. If our live survived- when our love survived, we could be together, forever. It was movie love, but more magical, more real.

I walked up the stairs, my heart anxiously beating in anticipation, ready to see Edward, like I should; not like an enemy, but as a friend, a boyfriend, a lover. I was ready to feel his lips on me skin, his hand in mine, my hand has been so cold these last few weeks…

The thump-thump of my heart beat rang in my ears, but a grin was evident on my face, excited was the dominate emotion. I couldn't wait to be back in his arms, our bodies mashed and tangled together. How it should be, how it soon would be.

But when I walked into Edward's office, there was already someone there- with him, on him, kissing him, where I should be, where I needed to be. My heart was pounding so, so loud. I was sure they would break apart just from hearing it…

The sight tore me chest in two, I couldn't breath- my throat had closed up.

I couldn't see- be vision was blurred in the way that could only be tears.

I couldn't feel- my limbs were numb, my body frozen, my legs were lead, unable to move from the sight in front of me.

I couldn't think- I just couldn't think…

oOoOoOo

_ My first try at this kind of thing... this was just the preface. Let me know in a review if you want me to continue! _


	2. In the Beginning

**All's fair in a Lovers War**

_Bella's life is good and her perfect boyfriend Edward makes it even better. But when they get into a fight, it starts an all out war between friends. Secrets are revealed, alliances are made; people are crushed. Who will win this ultimate lover's spat? AH_

Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer creates these amazing characters. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

**Chapter One**

(In The beginning)

_"The beginning is always today." –Mart Shelley_

_**A**ll's fair in a lover's war,  
Count up the final score;  
Your best friend will turn a foe,  
And all you can do is watch them go._

_**Y**ou will fight, blood will be shed,  
You and your boyfriend, won't share a bed;  
Secrets will be told, and alliances will be made,  
But there are no rules, that you must abide._

_**S**o be warned, my reader, don't be a fool,  
There will be a winner, in this to-the-death duel;  
Someone will win, and someone will loose,  
Who will it be- who do you choose?_

_**W**ill Bella win, in this lover's spat,  
Or Will Edward be triumphant, quick as a cat;  
Read on to know, you'll find out when the stories done,  
Now read on, my readers, here's Chapter One_

-Bella-

The hot June air blew in from the open window, coiling its way around the room. I brushed my hair which was sticking to my face out of the way before responding to Edward's 'I love you.'

"I love you too," I said into the phone, twirling the cord around my finger. I was talking to Edward, my boyfriend of six months. It was around two o'clock in the afternoon and I was currently at work, trying to proofread a story someone sent me.

I was a journalist with the Seattle Scoop magazine and one of the girls I worked with, Angela, had asked me to read over her story for the month. She headed the 'You know your getting a bad deal when…' column, which she always did amazing on, but she always felt like it wasn't perfect, so I always read over it, triple checking for errors, though of course there were none. **She was such a perfectionist. **

"See you this evening; remember we are going to Rosalie's birthday party tonight," he said before hanging up the phone. I remembered; how could I forget one of my best friend's birthday parties? Rosalie was turning twenty two, something she was not happy about. **Twenty two is not that old**.

'It's not like turning twenty one,' she had said when I had asked her how she felt about her birthday. 'At twenty one you get to be all excited because you can finally legally drink- legally being the key word there. At twenty two, you are just getting old.'

I shook my head at that and pointed out that Emmett, her boyfriend, was twenty three. She had just responded with 'It's different for guys,' which had been a pretty weak argument, but she had insisted that she was old, so I just did my best to not let her dwell on it.

"Hey Bella, say happy birthday to Rose for me, will you?" asked Angela as she passed by. Angela was always so sweet; she had only met Rosalie a few times, but she wished her happy birthday and had even gotten her a card with a poem that she herself had written.

"I will, and thanks for the tip on her present," I told her as I handed her the article, which was perfect as usual. A week ago I had started stressing out- I hadn't found Rose a good present yet and then Angela had come to the rescue, providing me with this awesome site that had tons of handmade jewelry from all over the Washington area. I had selected a pair of sapphire earrings for Rosalie with a matching necklace. Alice, one of my other best friends, had gone in with me on the gift and it arrived two days ago.

A sudden beep turned my attention back to my work, where I had received a message on my computer from the head office asking me what the topic of my newest article was.

I wrote about friends, family, and lovers, basically relationships with people. This month I had decided to write about fights with anyone and the best ways to deal with them.

I quickly sent him back a message, sighing at the way this took place. Ever since our old boss, Jacob, had left for his two week vacation in Mexico, some guy, Eric, had taken over. And Eric loved technology. He made us do everything through emails, instant messages, and text messages. He wouldn't even come out of his office, which was only a floor above where Angela and I worked, to ask me. No, it had to come in the form of a silly little message.

Angela and I joked about this often, saying that the reason Eric wanted to do this was so no one could see him. We had only seen Eric once when Jacob first brought him in, but we only saw the back of him.

The phone started ringing again and I answered in my work voice. "Seattle Scoop, we find the drama for you, may I help you in any way?" I chirped, repeating the line we were supposed to say when we first answered the phone.

"Yes, I need help. I still haven't found a present for Rose and the party is in four and a half hours!" a deep voice hissed from the other end of the phone. I recognized the voice as belonging to Emmett, and I sighed, this was so him.

"You haven't gotten a present yet?" I asked, shaking my head. Emmett was a great guy, funny, and really sweet to Rose, but sometimes he just got distracted by something- like a new weight bag, that he forgot about stuff, such as Rosalie's present apparently.

"No, Bella, you have got to help me. I can't call Alice or Edward; you know that they will tell her, and Jasper won't pick up. I'm desperate, please!" he begged. I could see him down on his hands and knees in my minds eye. The image made me giggle slightly.

"It's not funny!" he hissed. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not laughing at that, Emmett," I said, smiling into the phone. "By the way, can I have your Xbox after Rosalie rips you to shreds with her bare hands?" I asked as an afterthought.

"Bella, seriously, someone in need of help here!" he said urgently.

"Okay, so let's start at the beginning. Why, on God's green earth, do you not have a present for Rosalie, your girlfriend, when her birthday is tonight?" I asked.

Angela was looking at me strangely from her desk, but I just mouthed Emmett. She smiled and shook her head. I told her pretty much everything about my friends and she knew how Emmett tended to get distracted, it was amazing Rose put up with him sometimes and at other times it was like they were perfect for each other.

"Ok, well three weeks ago, I found Rose this card and it was really sweet and I bought some roses and I surprised her with some roses, for Rose… and she was so happy she got turned on…"

"EMMETT!!!" I shrieked, causing Angela and some girl who was walking through our office at that time to stare at me. "I so do not want to know what you and Rose do on your own time, especially when it involves sex!" I hissed in a low voice.

"Ok, ok, sorry, but it was a great night," he sighed. I rolled my eyes. "But anyway, I thought, I'm good for a while, if I can please her so spontaneously. I'll get a great idea soon," Emmett said.

"And you didn't?" I asked warily. I could practically see Emmett shaking his big head, his eyes wide, trying to figure out what to do.

"No, I thought I would and now… please help me Bella!" he begged, stuttering slightly.

"Alright, so you have to get her something amazing," I said.

"Right, something amazing," he repeated.

"Something spectacular," I went on.

"Yes, something totally spectacular," he continued.

"Something that will knock her off her feet," I finished.

"Of course, something that will knock her off her feet," he said. "Do you actually have anything in mind?" he asked.

"Um, no, not really," I said, my voice had a defeated sound to it; I was tired.

"Come on Bella!" he begged. "We have to find something!" he finished.

"We, oh now it's a 'we' in this whole ordeal?" I asked, teasing him. Of course I would help, I mean, who cares if he forgot to get a present, it's not like he meant to.

"Hey, you and I are in this together now. Come on, if Rose finds out that you know that I hadn't gotten a good present and you did nothing to warn her, you would be in almost as much trouble as I would."

"That's true," I said thoughtfully. "We'll come up with something," I tried to be supportive, enthusiastic, as if that even if we didn't mess up, our lives wouldn't be on the lines.

"Alright, so what did you get her? Maybe I could go in with you on that?" he suggested after a moment of silence.

"Nah, Alice already went in with me, but maybe I could convince her to share, just in case we can't find anything else. Hang on; call you back in a few," I said, hanging up the phone.

Angela looked at me strangely. "Emmett forgot the present; he did something for Rosalie as a surprise a few weeks ago and then he kind of forgot to get the real present…" I trailed off, shrugging.

I picked up my phone again and dialed Alice's work number. "Hello, you have reached Serendipity, where all your clothing needs are met, Alice speaking." My pixie like friend said in a bored voice into the phone.

"Hey Al," I said. "I thought you were supposed to like your job. Already bored of it?" I asked. Alice and I had been waitresses together at a coffee shop called Perksin downtown Seattle, working part time when we weren't in school. But since it was summer we decided to get jobs that would actually help us with the jobs we wanted after we finished school, so I had taken the job here as a journalist. I wanted to be an author, but one step at a time.

She had just gotten her job, her 'break through' into the fashion world. Apparently it wasn't quite working out as she had hoped.

"Hey Bells. I'm not bored, just a little tired of answering phones, making coffee, and sorting hangers all day, you know?" she said. "I thought I could actually do some designing, something interesting, not that I mind paying my dues, it's just I don't know how much more can I take, you know?"

"Alice, you started your job less than a month ago," I reminded her. I could practically see her rolling her eyes, standing up straighter, ready to tell me exactly how long she's been there, so I decided to get right to the point.

"Anyway, Emmett called. He forgot to get Rose a present and apparently he has already gotten her a few small things, but…" I said quickly.

"He got distracted," Alice finished for me.

"Exactly. He's been the one helping her the most with the whole fearing being old thing," I said.

"That's true," said Alice. I grinned; Alice was with me, there was nothing wrong with turning twenty two. Alice would be twenty two in another few months and I would after that, but still, I wasn't dreading it or anything.

"So he asked if we could maybe share our present with him," I said. I already knew Alice would say yes, just should we let him give her the earrings or the necklace. I had already shown Edward one of them… but I couldn't remember which. Would he tell Rose? Maybe… if he still hadn't gotten over Emmett beating him at that Xbox game a few days ago… That's how those boys were…

"Sure, which one are we letting him have, earrings or necklace?" she asked. I smiled, glad she didn't mind; even though I knew she that wouldn't.

"I was thinking necklace," I said. I was ninety-five percent sure I had shown Edward the earrings.

"Bella, I," her voice suddenly changed, from gossipy and happy to professional and a little bit deeper "so you wont be ordering that box of Lyric T-shirts, thanks for letting me know," she said. I giggled; her boss must have just walked in. She had done this once before, when Edward and I had both been on the phone and we had both burst out laughing.

"Is she gone Alice? If she isn't, say tube top, if she is, say boy short," I said.

"Ha, ha, very funny. You don't have such a scary boss like I do," she whispered.

"I thought it was pretty clever. Bye Alice, Emmett will appreciate it," I said, chuckling under my breath.

"Bye Bella," she said, before the line went dead. I sighed, and hung up the phone again. I quickly dialed Emmett's number again, told him the deal, causing about fifty 'thank you Bella, I owe you one, I didn't mean too…" to leak out of his mouth before I finally hung up the phone.

I sighed, that had been a sort of stressful half hour. "Long day?" asked one of my colleagues as she entered the office.

"You have no idea," I said with a smile, as I turned to my computer since another message had popped up.

_oOoOoOo_

_Please tell me what you thought! And there is a reason Emmett is so forgetful- you will find out later._

_Please Review- anyone who reviews gets a sneak peak of the four line poem that goes with the next chapter!!_


	3. And so it Begins part one

Chapter Two- And so it begins (Part One)

"_Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else." –Will Rogers_

_**C**__hapter two is here, the fight will begin,  
We still don't know, which team will win;  
Read on as drama, begins to unfold,  
Will the characters ever just do as their told?_

-Bella-

Everything was going perfectly, that is until Alice arrived. I was at Edward's and my apartment getting ready, with Edward in the next room, changing, when Alice walks in, uninvited, and took one look at me and says "No."

I was wearing a blue sweater with a pair of nice slacks, which in my opinion looked fine. But apparently, Alice didn't think I was quite there yet. "Bella, we are going somewhere nice." She said now, as I let her in.

"Hi," I said, put out that my outfit wasn't up to her 'standards.' Ever since I made friends with Alice, my fashion sense, according to her, had gone up somewhat, but apparently my current outfit wasn't quite there.

"Hey Alice," Edward called from the other room, I saw him pulling on his jacket out of the corner of my eye. Edward always took my breath away, and when he was wearing a tuxedo- wow was the only word to describe his appearance.

But Alice didn't have time for formalities; she yanked on my arm and pulled me into the bedroom, pushed Edward out, and immediately began digging through my closet. I sat on the silky, ocean blue bed spread and sighed, taking a look at Alice. She was already dressed to perfection. Wearing a rosy pink dress that fell down to her mid thigh, with ruffles near the bottom, and a v-cut top that was revealing yet concealed- she looked amazing. Her inky black hair was smoothed straight down, and she was wearing funky dark pink earrings and a light, coral pink earrings- Alice never was to matchy-matchy. I couldn't help be a tad jealous- will my ordinary body- whose only special talent was tripping over its own feet, and plain, straight brown hair- not unique or breath taking at all.

Alice began taking things out of my closet, looking at them for a moment, and throwing them next to me on the bed in disgust. I thought my clothes were nice. "Alice, you know I am going to have to be the one who cleans that mess up." I said, starting to gather up my clothes. She just looked at me and sighed, before continuing to ransack my closet.

"You have nothing to wear!" She exclaimed a few minutes later, before a wicked grin appeared on her face. She took off suddenly and dashed out the door- as far as I could tell back to her car. I was slightly nervous, when Alice wore a smile like that- something usually ended up broken, or messed up, or in one case, it ended with this guy Jasper worked with, Mike something or another, in jail for the night, before Alice went and bailed him out.

She ran back in, a garment bag in her hands. She held it carefully, like a newborn- which made me even more nervous. Alice noticed the look on my face- and out on her puppy dog eyes. I sighed, not knowing what was coming- but ready for anything.

"Now Bella, over the past few weeks, I have been staying late at the store, in the workshop- and messing around with some of the stray material there. I took some of my old dresses in that I never wear anymore, and fixed them up a bit. Actually the one I am wearing used to be a Barney's." She said, her cheeks slightly flushed. I looked once more at her beautiful dress- realizing that she had pretty much made it.

"Oh my god Alice, that's amazing, you made the dress you are wearing, and wow!" I exclaimed, causing Alice to turn even brighter pink, which was very unusual for her.

"I didn't make, it, exactly." Alice said, though as she swished around slightly, I knew she was proud of her work. "But anyway, as I was saying, I have this dress, which should be about your size- with the alterations I've done. And you have to wear it, because I gave Rosalie one to, and she likes it- I think, and we can all be wearing the first of Alice designs." She said the last bit sort of fast, while unzipping the zipper of the garment bag. I let out a gasp- the dress was amazing.

It was a deep red, long, with a small v-cut top and silky fabric with some beaded designed here and there. It looked like it would go down to half way down my shins- and it had some layers at the bottom. I couldn't believe Alice had made it.

"It's amazing!" I gushed, running up to touch it. I couldn't believe Alice wanted me to wear one of her first ever designs.

"And it will look gorgeous on- now try it, we still have hair and make up to do!" Alice ordered, getting back into her bossy routine. She wasn't that bossy- okay, maybe she was, but it was usually about clothes and people's appearances- and sometimes everything else... but I loved her for it. She wouldn't be Alice if she wasn't bossy.

I quickly stripped out of my current outfit- which looked like ratty old jeans and a worn T-shirt compared to the glossy dress in front of me. I slipped the material over my head, and straightened it out, not daring to look in the mirror, Usually, when Alice gave me a new outfit- which was often, since apparently my wardrobe was to small for her likings, she made me wait until my hair and make up was done before she let me see it. She played the 'full effect' card on me whenever I protested.

Alice smiled when I turned to face her. "Fit's almost perfectly, I need to make a few minor adjustments- but besides that, splendid. Now, I know I usually make you wait, but turn around, I need to see your reaction." Alice said.

I turned slowly- and let out another sigh. The woman in the mirror wasn't me, it couldn't be. For the person in the mirror looked tall and like she actually had curves- a butt and boobs were actually there. Her legs seemed long- even with the dress falling down slightly past her knees.

It just couldn't be me.

oOoOoOo

I walked into Ballo Elaborato, the new Italian restaurant, on shaky feet. Alice had placed me in three inch heels ('Don't worry about it, you will be fine, I promise' she had said when I asked her how the hell I was supposed to walk in them), and I was very, very nervous about falling. I walked in clutching Edward's arm for support- something about that he found amusing, but I chose to just ignore him.

"Whoa." Was all I could say, the place was amazing. From the outside, it looked like a simple Italian restaurant, there were simple yet elegant doors, the brick was white, and there was dark green ivy creeping up the walls. But inside, it was even more amazing. Along the edges of the place there were exquisite rounded tables with pearly white table clothes and large, flickering candles casting a merry, romantic glow all around the room. In this middle space, there was a large open space, where there were a few couples dancing, next to a small stage that was set up along one side where there were no tables. There was a band on there, playing a slow song, and singing in what could only be Italian.

Above the dancing area there was a large beautiful chandelier, with what looked like diamond glittering off it. All in all, it was amazing- and exactly the place Rosalie would choose to have her birthday. I spotted Rose and Emmett sitting at a table together in the far corner of the room, drinking Champaign and laughing. Edward and I made our way around the dance floor- me still clutching onto him, and to their table. Alice and Jasper hadn't arrived yet, so we weren't late, as I thought we might be. Alice had taken forever on my hair- which was currently twisted up into an elegant bun with small, wavy ringlets coming out of it. It did look good- but it had taken forever. Defiantly not an everyday sort of style.

"Hey guys, don't you love this place, I can't believe I found it on such short notice- it's pretty amazing." Rose gushed. I looked at her slightly pink drinks, and already partly unraveled hair, and guessed she and Emmett had arrived earlier and had already started drinking- Rose wasn't this merry.

"It really is, and the dress is gorgeous." I told her, giving her a hug before sitting down. Alice had tried to explain to me the dress back at the apartment, but I hadn't really paid that close attention, but it really did look spectacular. It was a dark purple, with a long, plunging neckline with spaghetti straps to hold it up. When Rosalie turned around, I saw the back had strings of fabric that laced back and forth all over her bare skin, causing her to look very tall indeed.

We all sat down, sipping the wine that the waiter had just given us, talking about the place. Edward kept trying to talk me into dancing- but wouldn't budge. After a moment, Emmett and Rose themselves went onto the dance floor, and Edward, feeling left out, lifted me with his strong, muscular arms out of the chair and wrapped me around him. He ignored my protests, carrying me out onto the dance floor and began spinning me around.

"I can't dance, Edward!" I whined, as he hurled me around once more, but actually, I was secretly enjoying it. Edward was holding me very close, I was pressed against his chest, and I barely had to move, he had me in the air most of the time anyway- my feet barely touched the ground.

"You are now, and besides, I think you might enjoy it if you gave it a chance." He whispered in my ear in a deep, husky voice as he pressed me even more firmly against him. I gave up the argument- I did like being this close to him. I looked up after another twirl to see him smirking at me, his eyes alight and happy. I sighed, he just loved to be right, but sometimes it bugged me.

Another song later and I was starting to get tired. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper and Alice walk in, and when Jasper caught my eye he winked- before twirling Alice onto the dance floor too. It was cute to watch them, Jasper was at least a good foot and a half taller than Alice, and he picked her up and held her like she was a doll, his doll. I smiled as the song ended, and we all stopped dancing and clapped, before heading back to our seats.

oOoOoOo

_So originally I had this chapter and the next chapter combined, but it was well on it's way to being over 5,000 words, so I decided to stop it here. I know it's mainly fluff at this point, but the next chapter will get into more drama, don't worry._

_Please review! If you do I will give you a sneak peak of the next chapter, since I can't give you the poem since it will be the same… REVIEW PLEASE!!_


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